Natalie Portman's Man Talks Scents

Before Black Swan came out, and Natalie Portman was sporting a baby bump on the red carpet and talking motherhood, most people had never heard of her beau Benjamin Millepied. In the dance world, though, the renowned dancer and choreographer has long been a crowd favorite thanks to graceful movements and striking good looks—something I can certainly attest to. As a young ballet dancer, I watched Millepied perform every summer in upstate New York, his company's home base during the month of July, sneaking backstage at any chance to score an autograph from the French danseur. This morning, while I didn't score an autograph, I got something better—the opportunity to sit down and chat with Millepied, recently named the face of Yves Saint Laurent's new fragrance L'Homme Libre (or "free man" in his native tongue).

With a million ballet questions running through my mind (What's your next project?! Who's your favorite dancer to work with!?) I kept my composure and got down to beauty business. While Millepied loves fragrance (he prefers unusual scents for both himself and on women, often frequenting Diptyque in the past), he's not much of a primper. "I use a Kiehl's face wash and Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray in my hair, it gives it that texture like you just stepped out of the ocean." I couldn't resist a follow-up question about his backstage grooming habits, to which he replied, "I'm the guy who does the minimum amount to get ready, and you'll always find me running to the makeup room when I run out of something. Then when I get off stage I run to my dressing room immediately to wipe it all off." For a guy that doesn't like to look perfectly put together (well-dressed of course, but not like he spent hours in front of the mirror), L'Homme Libre's mix of bergamot, pink pepper, and patchouli is apparently the perfect scent. "You can wear it every day, all day. I like it because it's fresh and youthful, but masculine at the same time." And while Millepied doesn't wear fragrance during performances, it turns out L'Homme Libre may have helped him discover his own sense of freedom. While filming the TV commercial for the scent he was forced to run and twirl through the streets of downtown Manhattan. Used to the safety of the stage, the experience was awkward at first. "It's definitely an exercise in not being self conscious; I didn't love doing it, but it was a good experience. And actually, after we finished taping, I performed Swan Lake afterwards and it was really freeing—I had a new sense of confidence when it came to acting on stage."